HOUSTON, TX—This fall, Sanman Studios is delighted to present I Am, Because You Are, Chayse Sampy’s debut solo exhibition, on view in Houston from September 7 to November 3.
Working primarily on paper and canvas, Sampy collages images, fabric, marks, stains, and bodies to capture the resourcefulness and adaptability of the Black experience. The exhibition employs found, familial, and archival images to visualize moments of connection, leaving space for varied understandings and imaginings of an ever-unfolding “now.” This new body of work explores Black interiority and agency across generations by juxtaposing bodies in relation to one another. Existing in the space between undoing and becoming, Sampy reimagines Blackness as a complex, flexible, mutating tool for reconfiguring hope. I Am, Because You Are weaves the individual with the collective, allowing viewers to reflect on all we are and imagine all we can be.
Chayse Sampy: I Am, Because You Are is curated by Seth Rogers, Co-Founder and Director of Sanman Studios.
Chayse Sampy, The Glass Maker’s Daughter, 2024. Oil on canvas, acrylic glitter paint, 36 x 36. Courtesy of the artist.
Artist Chayse Sampy:
Chayse Sampy was born in 1997 and raised in Houston, Texas. She earned her BFA from Louisiana State University (2020) and her MFA from Florida State University (2023). Drawing from the enduring spirit of Black resistance, Sampy incorporates a collage of images and materials that highlight the collaborative nature of Blackness across time and space. Her mixed media paintings are sculptural, functioning as monuments, memorials, and memories. By incorporating mediums often associated with “craft,” her work conveys a sense of resourcefulness, adaptability, and complexity integral to the Black experience, calling forth a tradition of fugitive creativity.
About Sanman Studios:
An acronym for “See a Need. Meet a Need,” Sanman is a Houston-based art and cultural organization that operates an 11,000 sqft warehouse containing two multi-use production studios, a contemporary art gallery, and an artist residency workspace. Since 2018, Sanman Studios and the organization’s non-profit initiative, the See A Need-Meet A Need Foundation, have provided opportunities for artists and creative individuals in the Greater Houston area to develop their crafts, build their careers, and manifest their dreams. Sanman has worked alongside local and major brands, including Spotify, Adidas, BeatsbyDre, Google, Highsnobiety, Lululemon, Puma and Nike. The organization has been featured in Burnaway, Elle Magazine, ESSENCE, Pitchfork, and local Houston news sources.
For more information visit sanman.company.